Goodison

In Search of Priory Road 1883-84

In Search of Priory Road 1883-84

In Search of Priory Road Commencing to write this article on the day that government approval was granted for the Bramley-Moore Stadium, social media was awash with good wishes to all those concerned in successfully seeing the project through. There were the inevitable online exchanges, with a great many from the envious dark side, who could see they were now visibly condemned to spend yet another generation in their Big Stand with little chance of expansion, a move, or even a laughable ground-share. Meanwhile, many commented online that this would be Everton’s third stadium build in the city.  (pic: Liverpool…
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Ted and Alan Storey – Guardians of Goodison Park’s Pitch

Ted and Alan Storey – Guardians of Goodison Park’s Pitch

Rob Sawyer In an era before blended natural-synthetic surfaces and other technological advances, the responsibility for keeping the famous Goodison Park playing surface in top-top condition over many decades lay with Ted and Alan Storey, two of the Toffees’ unsung heroes. Ted Storey in the early 1960s Ulverston-born Ted Storey (christened Edward, but some articles refer to erroneously as Edwin) moved to Liverpool in childhood. By 1901, aged 13, he was living with his widowed mother and siblings at 78 Windermere Street, not far from Anfield. On leaving school at 14 years of age, in April 1902, he joined the…
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The Battle of Goodison Park

The Battle of Goodison Park

Jim Keoghan Everton v Leeds United Football League Division One, 7 November 1964 Everton 0 Rankin, Labone, Brown, Gabriel, Rees, Morrissey, Temple, Pickering, Vernon, Young, Stevens Leeds United 1 (Bell) Sprake, Reaney, Bell, Bremner, Charlton, Hunter, Giles, Storrie, Belfitt, Collins, Johanneson To the modern fan, one reared on a game where crowds are often dispassionate tourists, players overly protected, and referees the agents of the authorities’ aims to make football as bloodless as possible; the past must look like a foreign country. The days of swaying crowds seething with a palpable sense of malign fury, defenders who would soften forwards…
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The Story of The Bullens

The Story of The Bullens

Rob Sawyer Perhaps the key motif for Goodison Park is the Archibald Leitch-designed cross-braced panels - as seen at the front of the Bullens Road stand balcony. The oldest stand and the only extant one to bear witness to Dixie’s glorious 60th League goal in 1928. Now giving faithful service into its 97th year, it will be robbed of reaching its century by the impending move to Bramley Moore Dock. The new stadium will pay a respectful nod to its predecessor with the Leitch lattice pattern incorporated into brickwork. After moving to Goodison Park, Everton had a Bullens Road stand…
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Match of the Day – 13 September 1902

Match of the Day – 13 September 1902

Everton v Newcastle United 1902 by Mike Royden There had been high expectations for the Everton side in the summer of 1902, following their runners-up spot to Sunderland in the previous season - their highest placing since a second-place finish, again to Sunderland, in 1894/95. However, the Blues had a dismal start to the 1902/03 season. The first three games were lost, with the first point coming with a 1-1 draw away to Wolves. Thankfully, the season improved the following week, with a satisfying 3-1 defeat of the Reds in front of 40,000 fans. Click image to view the film on the BFI…
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World Cup 1966: A ToffeeWeb Podcast

World Cup 1966: A ToffeeWeb Podcast

Four Members of EFCHS in conversation about the World Cup of 1966 at Goodison (Lyndon Lloyd (hosting) / Rob Sawyer / Paul McParlan / Mike Royden As the leading club ground in the country at the time, Goodison Park was selected to stage five matches at the 1966 World Cup and was originally intended to be the stage for England's semi-final against Portugal. If you’ve ever wondered what it must have been like to attend those games at the Grand Old Lady and witness greats like Pele, Eusebio, Garrincha and an unexpected star of the tournament in the form of…
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Rugby Links at Goodison

Rugby Links at Goodison

In previous articles published on this website, I focused on the other sporting side of Everton's history regarding sports, such as baseball and basketball. There have also been healthy links between Everton FC and cricket and the Olympics. Even American Football was reported to have been played at Goodison, highlighted in an article (1) by Pete Jones.   My article below focuses on both Rugby codes played at Goodison Park.  [1. Jones, Pete, 'Gridiron at Goodison', Everton FC Matchday Programme, Everton v Atalanta (Europa League, 23 November 2017) ]. 1908 - Kangaroos Rugby League Tourists Squad The Everton FC Board Minutes…
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Kicker Sportsmagazin visits Goodison Park

Jorg Jakob, correspondent for Kicker Sportsmagazin in Germany, visited Goodison Park and St Luke’s, where he met members of the society. Below is the original magazine article followed by an English translation. This is the article he produced on 23 March 2017. KLOPP’S NEIGHBOUR By Jorg Jacob, Kicker Magazine, Germany Before the duel at Anfield on Saturday, Jorg Jacob, Sports correspondent for the German football magazine ‘Kicker’, visited Everton Football Club and the Everton Heritage Society, to experience the life of Everton supporters in Liverpool. At the age of ten, Richard Gillham experienced his first derby win in 1978, at…
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Goodison Park, a Greyhound Stadium and Walton Hall Park

Goodison Park, a Greyhound Stadium and Walton Hall Park

The Lily Parr statue at the National Football Museum Everton and the Rise, Fall and Revival of Women’s Football  This December marks a centenary of one of the most significant football matches played at Goodison Park – but it did not involve Everton FC.  The participants were Preston’s Dick, Kerr Ladies FC and their St. Helens counterparts. The festive season match, in front of a record crowd for a women’s match, suggested that the women’s game was on the way to establishing itself as a mainstream spectator sport. 15 years later Dick, Kerr Ladies - rebadged as Preston Ladies -…
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